Abstract
Psychologica Belgica is the official journal of the Belgian Association for Psychological Sciences (BAPS). BAPS promotes the development of psychological sciences in Belgium, at both fundamental and applied research levels. The journal ensures rigorous peer-review to maintain research integrity.Psychological Belgica makes publications available online as soon as they are finalised. All publications are open access, making research available free of charge and without delay.The journal has a 2021 Impact Factor of 1.717 and a 5 year impact factor of 2.352.Subscribe to content alerts and other journal news here. You can also follow the journal on ResearchGate.
Highlights
With our modern means of communication and travelling, learning to read and write in a second language (L2) is becoming the rule rather than the exception
These findings extend the notion that differences across languages in terms of orthographic transparency impact on reading development to the FrenchDutch pair, and strongly support the view that there are potentially significant benefits to learn to read in the most consistent orthographic system first, even though it is the least proficient language, since it boosts phonological processes and improves subsequent reading acquisition in both languages
The present study examined the relative impact of oral proficiency and of orthographic transparency on reading development in French-native children immersed in Dutch and learning to read first either in that language (L2, but most transparent orthographic system) or in French (L1, but least transparent orthographic system)
Summary
With our modern means of communication and travelling, learning to read and write in a second language (L2) is becoming the rule rather than the exception. L2 acquisition through immersion has gained widespread acceptance, after it was introduced in the 1960s in Canada and since in the United States as well as in Belgium. Systematic evaluations of immersion programs in a number of Canadian cities have provided strong evidence that these programs are remarkably effective. Many practical questions remain unanswered regarding how to implement immersion programs. At what age should the immersion begin? In which language should the children be taught to read and spell first? At what age should the immersion begin? Is it disadvantageous for the development of the mother tongue or not? In which language should the children be taught to read and spell first? The present study focuses on this last question
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